If you follow this blog, you'll know that my favourite lipstick brand is Karen Murrell- and it makes me so happy that this brand is not only cruelty free, but from New Zealand!

The lipsticks themselves are ridiculously comfortable to wear- due to the Avocado Oil and Evening Primrose Oil they contain- and they SMELL good thanks to the cinnamon ingredient. Cinnamon also naturally plumps the lips, something that none of us would complain about! Coming up to the warmer months, you can also safely throw one of these lipsticks in your bag without worrying it'll melt- they have a base of Carnauba Wax- whoop!

The newest shade (pictured above) is the most glorious berry red, and named "Racy Rata"- inspired by the rata tree's beautiful blooms. I love how Karen Murrell uses the vibrant shades found in the world around us to create her products- knowing the story and inspiration behind a lipstick makes it that much more special.

You can buy Karen Murrell lipsticks online here, or from selected pharmacies and health food stores- I strongly suggest you check out the other shades available as well...I own way too many, they're addictive! Racy Rata isn't actually available until the 1st of November...BUT...I have one to give away!

I promised you more Lush, and I'm delivering! This time of year (heading into Christmas) can either be really stressful or really fun, depending on which approach you take. I've always been one of those ridiculous humans who leaves gift buying until the last minute...on one memorable occasion I actually left it until Christmas Eve. After nearly having a heart attack from stress, I decided to never be so foolish again- and buy my gifts well in advance. The Halloween and Christmas collections from Lush are DIVINE- and you'd be hard pressed not to get all your shopping done there...in the one place...perfect!! The following products are the ones that I'm particularly drawn to- but there are so many more. Have a peep on their website to see more, and check out the giveaway at the end of the post if you want to get super excited ;)

It's absolutely no secret how much I love Lush, and I know I'm not alone! It's easily in MUO's Top 5 Most Loved Brands, and they've supported me right from the very beginning. ALL the love for Lush <3 Obviously in this position, I do have to try products from a multitude of brands- and I have many HG faves...but I always end up coming back to Lush. It's addictive, and anyone who has ever been in store knows how difficult it is to walk out without purchasing anything. Something I love about their products is that it doesn't matter if my skin is playing up or not- I can always use them...they're gentle AND effective. I've managed to pick 3 of my go-to Lush skincare products that I'd recommend to all of you!

I'm more or less obsessed with this gel mask, designed to be applied pre-foundation. It gives my skin an awesome boost of moisture, and leaves it super soft and smooth. I leave it on for 15 minutes, rinse it off, and my skin is perfectly primed and glowing. I wish I could say I save this for special occasions..but it's just too lovely not to use often!

I was always one of those girls who resigned herself to never changing colour with the seasons. 'Tanning? In Summer?' i'd scoff. 'Mate, i'm grey all year round' - until last summer, where I changed my tune quite drastically. Full length jeans and light cardigans in December were exchanged for cut-off shorts and bright singlets thanks to a love affair with fake tan, and hanging out by the river on my days off.

This year, I have met my game changer. I've found myself suddenly and flawlessly bronzed in September. It's crazy. Madness. I AM JUST SO HAPPY.

My sultry love affair started when I recieved an email asking if I would be interested in trying a new tanning product to hit the NZ market. Because of my soulmate St. Tropez, I was initially sceptical - but thought why the hell not? It's 2014. Keep up with the times, Courtney. Try something new. Live a little. Be a modern kinda guy. A couple of weeks later, my cute wee parcel arrived from my wonderful courier man. The pink tube and squishy little tanning mitt had me all excited, and I loved the somewhat retro-inspired branding - plus the name itself - TANTASTIC! Stop that. Too cute. Still, I wasn't yet ready to bronze. So, she sat patiently in my bathroom cabinet until this week - feeling daring, I popped it out and decided to give it a hoon.

Oh. My. Gosh. What a product! I am reviewing the gel here, but Tantastic comes in a variety of formulas. I have never experienced a product so user-friendly. An easy to apply tinted gel means you would be crazy to miss a spot, and the applicator mitt means - that's right - no orange paws for you, pussycat. Tantastic has no funky faux-glow stench, and exfoliates evenly and steadily off your skin - no creepy patchy phases while you revert back to your paler self. I took a before and after picture however thanks to the lighting, it looks almost no different, sadface. I can guarantee however that I looked significantly healthier after my first application, and this formula is wonderfully buildable if you'd like to 'go a little deeper'. At work, customers complimented me on my prematurely-Summery glow, and I busted out my skirts and sandals with confidence. There's no orange glow with Tantastic, and the lightweight gel means you can put her on in the morning and not feel all sticky and revolting by the time lunch rolls around. In fact, this is the only product I have ever tried where I haven't felt the strong urge to shower half an hour after application.

I'm not ridiculously pale, but I do tend to go quite fair in Winter. This product is recommended for fair skin, so if any of you precious pale honeys are looking for a tan to try, this may well be a good start. I recommend this through and through. As far as I know, http://tantasticshop.co.nz/is the only place to pick this bad boy up. Have you tried Tantastic before?! What are your favourite tanning products?! If any of you guys see me wandering around looking pale, please slap me on the wrist and scold me for my laziness. With this product there are no excuses!